Also, she wasn't acting like an animal.
Part of her wished she'd read the book on vampires that Giles had always pushed her to. She was sure that if she'd read that, then all of this could have been so much easier to understand. She would have known that in saying what she had, she was claiming him, and she would have been prepared for just how deeply it affected her.
Back in Angel's office she had felt wild, like a lioness trying to protect her injured mate from attack. She hadn't even recognised the people who were standing in front of her; she had just seen them as enemies that were going to attempt to hurt Spike further.
Staring at the long stretch of road in front of her she was thankful that the sun had finally sunk behind the horizon and allowed her to pull a few of the coverings off Spike so she could see him. Being able to look at him and see his face was somehow reassuring to her, it made her feel safe and quieted the swirling of emotions in her stomach.
She reached a hand out and stroked the backs of her fingers down his cheek.
Spike murmured.
He was still too weak to talk to her, but she knew from her own state of mind that his was getting better. The pain inside her body was less now, a dull throb instead of an incessant burning.
Buffy sighed and looked at the road sign as it whizzed past. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she only had twenty more miles to decide before she reached the limits of Sunnydale.
Spike coughed, his body shifting uncomfortably under the layers she'd placed over him. She frowned at the small trickle of blood that seeped from the corner of his mouth.
"Spike?" Buffy nudged him slightly as she kept her eyes fixed on the road. He groaned and she felt the dull throb in her side grow into white-hot pain. She furrowed her brows and gasped as the pain started to spread through her body. "Hold on, Spike."
Slamming her foot down to the floor she drove hard into the outskirts of Sunnydale, heading towards the one place she would find help and comfort.
Driving fast down Revello Drive, she skidded to a halt in her driveway and fumbled with the car door, her sense of urgency returning as the pain inside her continued to grow stronger with each passing moment. As Spike screwed his face up in agony, she stopped and bent over, panting hard as she struggled against the hurt inside her.
"Buffy Anne Summers!" Joyce flung the front door open and stormed down the steps towards her daughter.
"Mom…" Buffy rounded the car, holding her side tightly as she made her way towards the passenger side and Spike.
"No, young lady…you listen to me…you had me worried to death, taking my car and disappearing like that…you ever…"
"Mom!" Buffy swallowed hard and found all her strength leaving her as she struggled desperately to pull the car door open so she could get Spike out and into the safety of her house.
It opened and she started to remove the blankets covering him. As the tears rolled down her cheeks, she gave in and stopped struggling against the powerful emotions that were carrying her away. All she could see was Spike, hurt beyond any mortal capacity and bleeding badly as he lay half conscious in her mothers SUV. Her breath felt like it was stuck in her throat, unable to break past the immovable lump of emotions that was lingering there. Her chest ached as her whole body trembled, her harsh sobs racking her tired body until she couldn't see clearly anymore.
"No, Buffy…I trusted you and you stole my car, you could've asked me…you are in serious trouble…"
Buffy stared down at the wound on Spike's side and then at her hands.
"Mom…" Her tone turned frantic as she stared blankly at the blood coating them.
"Giles put the phone down on me…you have your cell off…"
"Help me!" Buffy cried out as she furrowed her brows, hot tears streaming down her face as she turned to face her mother. "Please, help me."
She held her hands out to her mother and watched her eyes widen as she saw the blood on them. She hoped her mother would know what to do, she always knew and Buffy felt like she couldn't think straight anymore, the sight of Spike so hurt was making everything too painful.
"Please…I don't know what to do, mom…please?" Buffy fell to her knees and curled up, wrapping her arms tightly around herself, feeling like throwing up as everything that had happened became too much to handle.
Joyce looked down at her daughter and then up into the SUV. She realised that Buffy wasn't alone; in the passenger seat of her car was the vampire Buffy had bought home before.
"What happened?" She crouched down besides Buffy and stroked her hair. Buffy looked up into her eyes and mouthed the word 'please' at her as fresh tears spilled onto her cheeks. "Never mind. We have to get him indoors and then you can explain."
Buffy nodded and struggled to her feet, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as she swallowed down her emotions. She had to be strong, Spike needed her help and she couldn't afford to be weak right now.
Swinging Spike's legs around, she hooked his arm around her neck and put hers around his waist, holding him tightly as she helped him out of the car. She slowly aided him into the house and then looked at her mother who was waiting in the hallway.
Joyce closed the door behind them and frowned, the vampire looked even worse in the light and she was silently thankful that he couldn't die from lack of blood-or at least, she hoped he couldn't. Leading her daughter into the dining room, she didn't question the way Buffy was acting towards him-the warm and affectionate way she was tending to him and how worried she looked were enough to tell her that something had clearly happened between them.
Buffy heaved a long sigh as she laid Spike down on the dining table and then turned to face her mother.
"I'll explain all this…I promise…but…"
Joyce watched Buffy's lower lip tremble as she turned her head to look at Spike, and it was clear to her what needed to be done. She'd do her best to look after them both so she didn't have to see her usually strong daughter so upset.
"Right now we need to get him cleaned up…get the medical box from the upstairs bathroom and I'll get the one from the kitchen, I think we might need both." Joyce placed a reassuring hand on her daughter's shoulder and watched her nod. She knew what Buffy needed; she needed to be active so she didn't have time to think about the wounds that littered Spike's body-she needed to feel useful.
Buffy scrubbed her hands hard as she watched the blood mixing with the water and swirling down the drain. She blinked away her tears and frowned down at her fingers-the blood didn't seem to be coming off them.
The front door opened and shut again.
Grabbing a towel, she moved silently to the top of the stairs and looked over the banister to see Giles talking to her mother.
"How has she been?" Giles looked concerned as he glanced up the stairs and Buffy ducked backwards so he didn't see her.
"She's been better, she's coping, I think…I don't know what happened between them, if that's what you want to know, I only know what she tells me and I don't think she's ready to tell me anything right now. She was so upset, Giles, I've never seen her so panicked in all my life…it scared me…"
"It's the bond…somehow, some time or another she and Spike bonded, one claimed the other and it seems it was this bond that drove her to take your car to LA. She felt Spike's pain and instinct told her she had to find and protect him."
"Claim? Bond? I don't think I'm understanding this right…are you saying they're linked somehow?"
"From what I understand, they share a…symbiotic relationship…where he feels pain she does too, and vice versa…they can feel each other, sense each other's whereabouts…it will take her time to adjust and there could be further things about this bond that we don't know of…"
Buffy frowned at Giles' words and leant over the banister again, her mother's face bore the same expression as hers.
"What kind of things?" Joyce looked confused.
"I don't know…this claim, it's usually placed between two vampires, it's never been studied thoroughly and I've never known of it happening between a vampire and a human. It's definitely never happened between a Slayer and a vampire. It may take a long time for Buffy to adjust to the new feelings that this has created between her and Spike, her Slayer side may not like this claim."
Buffy stepped onto the stairs and found both her mother and Giles immediately looking up at her.
"I…I'll be fine with this…it…" She held her breath for a moment and steadied herself. "It was me…I claimed him…I didn't realise I was, but it was me."
Giles blinked.
Joyce just looked even more confused.
"Are you feeling any better?" Giles decided not to ask the details of what had happened between her and Spike while she was absent, instead he looked up at her and then gave a sideward glance to Joyce, making it clear he needed to know if her mother knew how she had acted in LA.
"I'm good now…he's safe…healing, I can feel it. Feel him. Will it always be like this?" Buffy walked down the stairs and looked into the dining room where Spike was still laid out on the table.
"I don't know, but I would like the opportunity to record what happens, the abilities the bond gives to you both and how you cope with it as a Slayer."
Buffy nodded, she knew better than to deny Giles the opportunity to study anything and she hoped that his research would provide insight into the consequences of her being claimed.
"I have something for you…from Angel."
Buffy's eyes widened. "Oh god…Giles…I wasn't…you know I wasn't myself."
"He knows. He told me to assure you that it wasn't him who did this to Spike, and that you needed these." Giles handed her the small metal keys and watched her smile down at them, then walk into the dining room.
Working carefully so she didn't disturb Spike's rest, Buffy unlocked each of the manacles and let the chains drop to the floor. She ran her fingers lightly over the cuts on his wrists as she looked down at them and sighed.
In order to tend his wounds her, Buffy and her mother had been forced to remove the majority of his clothing. Now he was lying on the table in nothing but his boots and the makeshift shorts that they had made from his black jeans when they had cut the legs off them. Something had told her and her mother that this was one vampire that didn't wear underwear, and neither of them were quite ready to witness Spike in all his glory.
She turned back to face Giles and her mother, a small smile playing on her lips.
"I should probably get him…" She pointed up at the ceiling and Joyce held her hands up in protest. "Mom…please…I'm not going to stay there with him…he needs rest and it isn't safe down here."
Joyce looked at Giles.
"Don't drag me into this." He smiled and walked towards the door. "I'll call in tomorrow and see how he's doing, and I'll bring all the books I can find on vampires and claims."
"Donuts." Buffy stated flatly and Giles frowned in confusion. "You're not coming into this house with hours of reading without a sugary snack to keep me going."
"She's definitely feeling better." Giles rolled his eyes and then opened the door.
"Giles." Buffy stepped towards him and hesitated for a moment before squeezing him in a hug while desperately resisting the desire to pull away from him. "I'm sorry I put you through hell…sorry I acted the way I did and thank you for helping me…I know this all seems crazy…probably because it is…thanks for not flying off the handle."
Giles smiled down at her as she pulled back and looked up at him.
"I think I've learnt not to push you over the years, and I've definitely learnt not to question your relationship choices." Giles looked over at Spike where he lay on the table. "Though, I'm not going to tolerate sardonic comments from him."
Buffy just smiled and held the door open for him. "Night."
She watched him walk down the path to his car and then shut the door. Turning back into the house, she found her mother smiling at her.
Spike growled.
Joyce's eyes widened.
"Does he do that often?"
"Don't think so…to be honest, I don't really know, guess I have a lot to learn about him." Buffy shrugged and looked over at Spike.
Joyce pointed up the stairs. "Maybe he's better off out of the way. Besides, it would be nice to have my table back."
Buffy bounced on her heels and smiled as she walked over to Spike. She looked back across the room at her mother. "Don't suppose you could grab his feet…he's kinda heavy, dead weight and all?"
Joyce just rolled her eyes and walked over to Spike's feet.
Carrying him up the stairs, Buffy held onto his top half tightly as she manoeuvred him into her bedroom. Joyce didn't know what to think as she watched Buffy arranging the pillows beneath Spike's head and then stopping suddenly.
"Still feels kinda weird." She frowned down at Spike where he lay sleeping.
"You act like you love him."
"Love? No…no…" Buffy shook her head less and less as she thought about the way she was acting and what her mother had said. "No…"
"Just this claim thing, then?" Her eyes followed Buffy around the room as she drew all the curtains shut and checked them over to make sure no sunlight could get through.
"Yeah." Buffy breathed quietly as she looked down at Spike again. Her chest felt tight with mixed emotions and she didn't know what she felt for him anymore. "Just the claim."
